• By Chris Butler Published on November 8, 2021 Last modified May 21, 2023

Are you someone who thinks fast, or perhaps you don’t fully understand this term? Fast thinkers are those that are quick with a comeback and don’t lack for words. They can analyze a situation and go into fast thinking mode without too much thought.

While you cannot make all determinations on the fly, you can make good choices using fast thinking. It’s because the speed at which you process the situation is more valuable than its accuracy. Fast thinking comes easier to some than others, but here are some signs that you fit among the crowd of making quick decisions:

• You always have a good comeback when people say something to you. People tell you that you think well on your feet
• You finish your work quicker than most of your colleagues.
• You read books lightning-fast and are ready for the next one.
• When it comes to new information, you’re a self-starter and need little help with it. A classic example would be starting a new job or a class in college. You never required much instruction because you’re easy learning capabilities made the task effortless for you.
• You were always the first one to finish an exam in school.

How Fast Thinking Helps in Decision Making?

Indeed, fast thinking has many advantages, but it can be beneficial in the workplace. For instance, you have a significant machine breakdown that will cause several thousands of product losses. Corporate needs the part your line makes to finish a product, so your line is holding things up.

Rather than panic and come to pieces, you step into action mode. Your quick thinking reminds you that you have a connection with a parts guy that lives a couple of hours away. You use your relationship to get this guy out to the warehouse in the middle of the night.

He knew what was needed to get production up and running again with only a few hours to spare. You learned long ago that making good connections in the business world was advantageous for your career, and your fast thinking mind resolved an issue that could have caused the massive loss.

Some people would tower in stress and take the corporate reprimands for not hitting production goals, but you stepped up to the plate and resolved the situation quickly. This is just one example of how fast thinking can help you make good decisions, but there are many other times in life when it comes in handy.

Ways Quick Thinking Can Help In Life

Did you know that some psychologists believe that those who use quick thinking also have a higher intelligence? It doesn’t mean it’s true, but many times thinking quicker has a more desirable outcome. Here are some ways that being a swift thinker can help you in life:

• People who think quickly often feel happier and have more energy. They’re usually more self-confident individuals who use their creativity to accomplish tasks.
• Being quick on your feet allows you to use skills that are vital to your success, such as resolving issues, setting goals, developing an action plan, and keeping your focus honed on tasks.
• Folks that tend to think fast are the ones that have no issue being social and in a crowd. Their self-confidence allows them to mingle with the best and not have a problem speaking or giving presentations.
• These individuals tend to be more charismatic, and people are drawn to them.
• As a student, engaging in quick thinking skills can help you plow through tests as well as homework.
• Athletes must use quick thinking skills on the field to help them win the game.
• Driving on life’s highways can be dangerous and scary at times. However, processing and making decisions fast can make you a better, safer driver.
• One of the most significant advantages of being someone who thinks quickly is keeping yourself mentally intact as you age.

Understanding Your Brain’s Processing Speeds

Everyone wants to make intelligent decisions in life, as you know you pay dearly for all the wrong ones you’ve made. To make good choices, you must think clearly and analyze the situation, but the key is that you can only work as fast as your brain’s processing speeds.

Each person has different processing times, so what comes across as effortless to you might seem like a significant hurdle to another person. Your ability to think fast depends on your brain’s processing speed. According to Science ABC, it takes roughly one-third of a second to blink your eye, but your brain can look at something and process it thirty times faster.

It’s ironic your brain’s capabilities, yet many people don’t fully use all their capacities.

Your brain requires input from your senses to formulate a reaction. So, it will look, hear, smell, and taste things to let you know how to respond. For instance, you’re sitting in your easy chair relaxing, and you get a weird taste in your mouth that’s metallic.

Soon, your heart is racing, and you feel like you’re going to pass out. Your brain responds quickly and processes the information, and knows that your blood sugar has dropped. According to the Mayo Clinic, when your body’s glucose levels drop below 70 milligrams per deciliter, you can pass out from hypoglycemia.

You react quickly and get some sugar into your body to prevent any incidents. The accuracy of your thoughts helped you to thwart trouble. While most people can make informed choices during a panic situation, you need to make good decisions about other things too.

Did you know that you can push the processing speeds of your mind without causing any risks? Your thought processes must be quick, efficient, and accurate. Above all else, you want to make logical decisions, and the speed doesn’t matter if you get it all wrong.

Fast thinking isn’t going to do you any good if you’re making horrible choices.

Six Ways to Be a Fast Thinker

You know that you should make decisions quicker, so you need some tips on how to improve. Here are some ways to increase your processing times so that you can think fast. You should remember these tips when it’s time to make minor decisions. Think of all the things that you put off. Avoid that procrastination over small things. Of course, you should still consider major life decisions with gravity.

1. Try to Make Small, Trivial Decisions Quickly

The next time you’re at a new eatery with your family, try to choose your entrée in less than a minute. Don’t mull over the menu and make the wait staff come back ten minutes later. Take a chance, make your choice of foods items, and go with it.

2. Flip a Coin

If the decisions are not significant, try flipping a coin and calling heads or tails, as it helps you think faster.

3. Set a Timer

If you notice dragging that your feet in small tasks, try setting a timer to hurry. You will be ever aware of the deadline and learn to respond quickly.

4. Don’t Get Caught in the Multitask Trap

Many folks think that multitasking is beneficial because they can do many things at once. This thought process is counterproductive. Your brain only can genuinely focus on one thing at a time, and you can’t give your full attention to many things. So, stop trying to multi-task and deal with the situation at hand.

5. Get Sufficient Rest

One thing that slows down your brain’s processing times is sleep. If you’re not getting at least six hours of rest each night, you’re not going to be sharp the next day. If you want optimal brain function, you need to make rest a priority.

6. Try a Mental Workout

There are many ways to keep your brain sharp, including playing games like word searches, sudoku, and working puzzles. However, there are special training programs that work to help increase auditory processing.

BrainHQ is a program geared towards increasing the processing speeds of your mind, which can improve your decision-making. A study posted on the National Library of Medicine found that this can increase your processing speeds by more than 130 percent.

Final Thoughts on Developing Fast Thinking

Your life requires you to make fast choices, and it would be impossible to drive a car, work a job, raise children, have a relationship, and be productive without quick thinking. However, it would help if you learned when sometimes making an accurate decision means slowing down and deliberating it.

While you can make a quick choice to get the burger instead of the salad at the local restaurant, you shouldn’t choose to quit your job and move across the country at the same speed. Your choices, unfortunately, come with significant consequences. While you can live with the burger if you don’t like it, a life-altering move to another town would be catastrophic if you were to feel like a fish out of water.

Fast thinking is a great tool to have in your arsenal, but it’s not always the one you should use. Thankfully, there are many times when making choices on the fly will help you more than hurt. The goal is to make intelligent decisions with a better speed.

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About the Author

Chris Butler

Chris is a happy dad and co-creator here at PoP. Since 2009, Chris has experienced multiple life changing positive events, released over 100 pounds, attained inner peace, created academic and professional success, and learned to see increased abundance in every area of life, while remaining grateful and joyous through the journey. Chris has transformed from rock bottom in the areas of personal health, fitness, and spirituality. He credits it all to the power of positive thoughts, words, actions and reactions.

In his spare time, Chris enjoys music, fitness, plant-based nutrition and inspiring others to take positive action steps and catch their own dreams in life. Chris also loves to spend quality time with his lovely wife Kristen and two beautiful daughters.